Judges Praise High Standard Of Gardens

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30979, 8 February 1966, Page 23

Judges Praise High Standard Of Gardens

The large number of entries, in some sections better than ever before, was a feature of this year’s home and factory garden competition organised by the Canterbury Horticultural Society. The standard was again particullarly high. The judge of the home garden section (Mr R. A. Proctor) said that several of the gardens he inspected had outstanding displays of perennials and shrubs. The increasing interest in permanency was especially pleasing. Mr Proctor said the cultiva-

tion of the gardens was splendid, and in some cases close to perfect. Lawns were not as good as usual, and quite a few appeared to be suffering from fungus diseases, although he thought this was only a seasonal trouble. Some gardens lacked fruit trees, and Mr Proctor suggested that they could have been improved by a number of espaliered or dwarfed apple or similar fruit. The judge of the novice section (Mr G. G. Henderson) said entries this year were the best ever received, and the standard was very high. Many of the gardens which were judged were comparatively young—some had been established less than two years. Because of the newness of the gardens, Mr Henderson said, trees and shrubs were not of a mature size, and a large number of annuals had to be used.

Little separated the first few place-getters, he said. The colour harmony of the winner’s garden was excellent, and the deciding factor in many cases was the back half of the section. The two winning entries in

the factory section were outstanding, according to the judge (Mr W. Dailey). Wellplanned colour schemes and excellent landscaping made this year’s entries most impressive.

Some of the beds suffered from overwatering, he said, but this did not mar the overall quality of the gardens. The R. T. Tosswill Memorial Trophy for most points in any section was won by Mr and Mrs F. E. Rooney, of 162 Condell avenue, who entered the novice section. Results were:— Factories and Institutes, Section A and B (Judges: Messrs W. Dailey, E. Taylor and J. C. Fraser) Section A. Sanatarium Health Food Company, Ltd., 1, T. J. Edmonds, Ltd., 2, Ovaltine Works 3. Section B.—National Radiation Laboratory 1, St. Mary’s Convent 2, Calvary Hospital 3. Factories, Sections B and C (Judges: Messrs J. Watling, E. W. Rodgers and J. Feicken) Section B.—Fletcher Holdings, Ltd., 1, Disabled Servicemen’s Re-establishment League 2, Firestone Tire Company, Ltd., 3.

Section C. International Harvester Company, Ltd., 1, Marathon Rubber Company, Ltd., 2, Empire Rubber Company, Ltd., 3.

Home Gardens (Judges: Messrs R. A. Proctor, N. E. Taylor, E. G. Collett, and L. A. Bennett)

Gardens 40 to 80 perches.— Mr E. M. Mehlhopt, 33 Bamford street, 1; Mr E. A. Combs, 8 Royds street, 2. Gardens 30 to 40 perches.— Mr and Mrs L. S. Swallow, 12 Rochford place, 1; Mr S. Ruske, 119 Halswell road, 2; Mr and Mrs G. W. Banks, 102 Prestons road, 3. Gardens up to 30 perches.— Mr C. Crouch, 549 Ferry road, 1; Mr D. Cadman, 74 Stanbury avenue, 2. Novice (Judges: Messrs G. G. Henderson, S. Dwyer, and E. W. Cotter)

Gardens up to'3o perches.— Mr and Mrs F. E. Rooney, 162 Condell avenue, 1; Mr and Mrs G. W. Lee, Beechworth avenue, 2: Mr and Mrs C. J. Fineran, 72 Paterson street, 3.